Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 慶 (qìng) originally depicted a person with a deer, carrying beautiful deer skin as a gift to celebrate and congratulate others. In ancient times, deer were considered auspicious animals, and their skins were valuable gifts. The character evolved through bronze script to clerical script, gradually simplifying while retaining the meaning of celebration, congratulation, and auspiciousness. It conveys the joy of celebrating happy events and wishing good fortune upon others. Arrived in Japan: The character 慶 arrived in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BCE - 300 CE) or early Kofun period (300-538 CE) through cultural exchange with China, likely brought via the Korean Peninsula along with other Chinese characters and cultural elements. It was formally systematized during the introduction of Chinese writing systems in the 5th-6th centuries CE.